Short Interest in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) Grows By 73.9%

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,860,000 shares, an increase of 73.9% from the February 13th total of 3,370,000 shares. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Leidos Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LDOS traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $138.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,381,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,065,159. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $140.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $17.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. Leidos has a 12-month low of $123.23 and a 12-month high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 30.93%. On average, analysts forecast that Leidos will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

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Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total value of $203,320.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,408 shares in the company, valued at $862,260.48. This represents a 19.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,264 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,287.36. The trade was a 15.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Leidos

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $266,419,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 510.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 999,661 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $144,011,000 after purchasing an additional 835,930 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $378,942,000 after purchasing an additional 682,532 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 27.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,405,726 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $392,133,000 after purchasing an additional 522,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Leidos by 13.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $571,216,000 after purchasing an additional 405,256 shares in the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on LDOS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Leidos from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $185.00 to $165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $228.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Leidos presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $175.87.

Leidos Company Profile

Leidos Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides services and solutions in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Defense Solutions, Civil, and Health segments. The Defense Solutions segment offers national security solutions and systems for air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace for the U.S.